Amanda Young
Amanda Young is a primary character appearing in the Saw franchise. She was portrayed by Shawnee Smith. At first a minor character in Saw, ''she was revealed to be John Kramer's apprentice in ''Saw II and the majority of Saw III was centered around her character. She made a minor appearance in Saw IV and returned for flashback scenes in Saw V and Saw VI. Amanda and John are the only characters in the series to be featured in every movie. Early Life Amanda Young's early life was never established in the films, although both writer Leigh Whannell and Shawnee Smith have worked on and discussed it. On the commentary for the Saw III: Director's Cut ''DVD, Whannell stated that as a child, Amanda had been neglected and abused by her father. A deleted line from the original script for ''Saw III has Amanda telling John that her father used to lock her in the dark for hours, and that the abuse continued until she finally got the courage to tell someone and her father was put in jail. Because of her childhood trauma, Amanda never learned how to deal with stress and emotional pain, and thus turned to self injury as a way of dealing with her problems. She was later framed and jailed by corrupt detective Eric Matthews, and while in prison, her abusive tendencies were replaced with heroin. After surviving the Reverse Beartrap, she quit heroin but eventually returned to cutting, and other forms of self mutilation. Because of her frail emotional state and mental instability, she is quick to anger, and often acts purely on impulse (such as trying to kill Eric Matthews, and later, Lynn Denlon). A scene in Saw III where Amanda is shown cutting her inner thigh was not in the original script; there was only a brief scene that hinted at Amanda's self injury, in which Amanda is shown squeezing a razor blade (which was later replaced by a scene of Amanda squeezing a leather cutter). Shawnee Smith had been reading the book A Bright Red Scream prior to filming, and she firmly believed that it was necessary to show Amanda's self injuring tendencies (for character depth), and insisted that the scene be filmed and put into the movie. Still, some of the scene was cut, including a shot of Amanda using a cloth doll to soak up the blood from her wounds. Amanda suffers from borderline personality disorder, as well as Stockholm Syndrome in that she sympathized with her kidnapper. She may also have sensory processing disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as she may have sensory issues. Appearances in the films ''Saw'' Amanda first appeared as a minor character in Saw. She was the only known survivor of one of the Jigsaw Killer's (John Kramer) games. Her trap is depicted in a flashback as she described it to the police and Dr. Lawrence Gordon: she woke up with a device on her head, set to rip her jaws apart. The key to the device was in the stomach of her seemingly dead cellmate, Donnie Greco, who was actually heavily sedated; she killed him and freed herself seconds before the device went off and sprang open. In the orignal script, Donnie Greco was written to be Amanda's drug dealer. ''Saw II'' It is revealed in Saw II that Amanda started using heroin in jail, after being framed by Detective Eric Matthews for a crime she did not commit. In most of the film, she appeared as one of the subjects Jigsaw trapped in the Nerve Gas House, including Daniel, Eric Matthews son. At the end of the film it is revealed that Amanda was in fact working for John, seeing him as a leader, a teacher, and a father figure, and agreed to become his apprentice and eventually successor. Amanda claims that her experience in the first film ultimately saved her life, and this is what caused her to join John. ''Saw III'' Saw III revealed that Amanda had been working with John since the first film; her first task was kidnapping one of the film's protagonists, Adam Stanheight, and shortly after Adam failed his test and was left for dead, she gave Adam a mercy killing out of guilt, to end his suffering. Flashbacks in Saw III ''also revealed after Matthews failed his test and was left for dead, he escaped and engaged in a vicious fight with Amanda, demanding to know the whereabouts of his son. Amanda eventually subdued Matthews and escaped. As Amanda walked away, Matthews taunted her, saying that she's "not Jigsaw." and that she's nothing. In the original script draft, Amanda was written to kill Matthews by jumping on top of him and stabbing him in the neck multiple times with a knife, but this was ultimately dropped because the producers wanted to bring Donnie Wahlberg's character back for ''Saw IV. Amanda eventually went on to design her own traps, though unlike John's in which the subject had a chance of surviving if they followed the rules, hers were inescapable. Distraught, a now dying John decided to give Amanda one last chance to prove that she had what it takes to carry on his legacy. As he lay on his deathbed, John ordered Amanda to kidnap surgeon Lynn Denlon, who was tasked with keeping him alive until another subject, Jeff Denlon, completed his test. During this time, Amanda became upset upon seeing John being operated on and was hostile towards Lynn especially when he told Lynn that he "loved" her, when in fact he was delirious and hallucinating about his ex-wife, Jill Tuck. It was later revealed that Amanda, in the stress of her situation, had resumed her self-mutilation. Amanda was instructed by John to read a letter that was left for her, the contents of which remained unknown to both of them. Upon reading it, Amanda broke down in tears. When Amanda announced that Jeff had finished his test, John ordered Amanda to let Lynn go. Amanda refused, saying that Lynn hadn't learned anything and didn't deserve to go free. John pleaded with Amanda to let her go, but Amanda ignored him and shot Lynn. At this point, Jeff entered the room and shot Amanda in the neck. As Amanda bled to death a tearful John revealed to Amanda that Jeff and Lynn were husband and wife, and that she was being tested all along to see if she willed for Lynn to live. He explained that by making her traps unwinnable, her subjects were merely victims, and she wasn't testing anyone's will to live, thus defeating John's original purpose. Seconds before dying of her wounds, John told her that he wanted her to succeed, and sadly relayed "Game Over". ''Saw IV'' In Saw IV it is revealed that the FBI was aware that Amanda is Jigsaw's accomplice when FBI Agent Peter Strahm tells Detective Mark Hoffman that John and Amanda were both physically incapable of placing Detective Allison Kerry in her trap, leading them to suspect that there may be a second accomplice. It is unknown how the FBI knew that Amanda was in fact an accomplice to John at that time, but its most likely that she disappeared after the events of Saw II, leading them to suspect that she was working with Jigsaw. By Agent Strahm, in the criminal records of Amanda says it weighs 50 kg. It is later shown that the events of Saw'' III and Saw IV occured concurrently, meaning that Amanda was still alive during the events of the film. Her blood-covered corpse is found by Strahm in the makeshift operating room at the end of the film, shortly after her death. ''Saw V Amanda reappeared in Saw'' V'', but only through flashbacks and archive footage.In a flashback set prior to the events of Saw II, Mark Hoffman questioned why Amanda would need to be involved in the nerve gas house, and Amanda is seen lying seemingly unconscious on the ground as John and Mark set up the game. In another flashback taking place during Saw III, Hoffman is seen talking to John in the operating room, and questioned why he was letting his emotional attachment to Amanda get in the way of his perception of whether or not she was truly worthy to continue on his legacy. Mark also predicted that Amanda would fail John, and left the room through a secret exit seconds before Amanda entered the room with Lynn. ''Saw VI'' In a flashback set prior to the first film, Amanda, desperate for drugs, coerced Cecil Adams into robbing Jill Tuck's clinic for her, inadvertantly causing the miscarriage of John's son Gideon. It was shown that after surviving her test in the first film, John brought Amanda to Jill to prove that his rehabilitation methods worked, implying that Amanda was once a patient at Jill's clinic and that Jill had given up on her. When Amanda said that he helped her, Jill believed her and ended up becoming something of an accomplice to Jigsaw herself. Amanda appeared in a flashback with John and Mark as they set up Timothy Young's trap prior to Saw III. It was shown that Amanda and Mark, had a very competitive relationship and tense rivalry with each other. Amanda openly expressed doubt in Mark's abilities to set up mechanices of their devices properly, remarking that he was only ever really useful for "heavy lifting", and questioned whether Mark should be tested, reflecting upon the fact that she had already passed a test. Mark in turn openly expressed dislike for her, saying he was the only one who truly cherishes his life. Amanda's close emotional attachment and care for John was further displayed. Amanda appeared awkward and uncomfortable when she and John later ran into Jill as they exited the room. Another flashback showed that Hoffman plotted to sabotage Amanda's test in Saw III. ''Knowing of Amanda's involvement in Jill's miscarriage, Hoffman blackmailed her into killing Lynn in the letter he left her, by threatening to tell John. In another flashback, it is revealed that during ''Saw III, Amanda visited Corbett Denlon and told her not to trust the person who would save her (Mark Hoffman). This heavily implies that after Mark Hoffman rescued Corbett, she informed FBI Agent's Lindsey Perez and Dan Erickson of what Amanda told her, which forwarded their suspicion of Hoffman. ''Saw 3D'' In Saw 3D, she is briefly seen in archive footage, from Saw II, in which she is seen in the bathroom with Daniel Matthews,while escaping from Xavier Chavez. Appearances in other media ''Saw: Rebirth'' The character is also featured in the comic book, Saw: Rebirth, which is set prior to the events of first movie. It is revealed that while receiving treatment in hospital for his illness, John Kramer first notices Amanda. She is portrayed by fellow patient at the hospital who was being treated for an overdose that she had suffered from due to her drug addiction. John expressed frustration that Amanda did not learn anything from her overdose. This motivates John to design her test which was featured in the first film. ''Scott Tibbs Documentary'' Amanda has a brief appearance in the short film Scott Tibbs Documentary which is available on the special edition DVD of Saw II. In the short film, she is harassed by a news reporter who wants information on her experience when she was captured by Jigsaw. In response, Amanda punches the reporter in the face and storms off. ''Saw: The Video Game'' Amanda also appeared in Saw: the Videogame, which is set inbetween the events of the first and the second movie, she is the first victim that the protagonist, former Detective David Tapp, must save. Upon being placed in the asylum, she was held in a poison/antidote injection trap to reflect her "intravenous drug use habits." Tapp rushed to save her and she proceeds to follow him around the asylum. However, she is soon abducted by fellow apprentice Pighead, this was done to cover up her identity as a Jigsaw Apprentice. Amanda is mentioned in several case files in Saw: Flesh & Blood. One of them reveals that Amanda disappeared after the events of the previous game and Tapp guesses she went off the grid. Category:Characters Category:Deceased Category:Females